Qhapaq Ñan

Otherwise know as the Main Andean Trail, was the backbone of the Inca Empire’s political and economic power. The whole network of trails over 23,000 km in length connected various production, administrative and ceremonial centres constructed over more than 2,000 years of pre-Inca Andean culture

The Main axis of the route, also known as the Royal Trail runs along the peaks of the Andes which is at it's most discernable between Quito and Mendoza. In addition to this backbone over the highest peaks, other trail also run in a north-south direction along the Pacific coast. The Inca Empire organized the network on a continent-wide scale; the trails are an invaluable expression of the organizing and planning spirit of the available labour force and constituted a key instrument in unifying the Empire physically and organizationally.